27th edition of the awards Luca de Meo is awarded Executive of the Year by AutoRevista

/ The President of SEAT, distinguished for “his leadership in the company’s latest achievements” / The publication has been giving this prize since 1991 to personalities with an outstanding career in the automotive sector

Madrid, 24/11/2017. - SEAT President Luca de Meo has been distinguished as Executive of the Year in the Vehicle Manufacturer category by AutoRevista, the leading trade publication in information about the car industry in Spain. The prize was presented at the 27th edition of the AutoRevista Directors of the Year Awards, organised by the magazine in Madrid. This is a new recognition for Luca de Meo’s leadership in guiding SEAT following the prizes given by Automotive News Europe and Bocconi University for CEO and Alumnus of the Year, respectively.

As highlighted by AutoRevista, awarding the prize to Luca de Meo responds to “a splendid moment, underpinned by the achievement of the best results in the history of SEAT. With Luca de Meo at the helm, Martorell has launched a new generation Ibiza, which is now joined by the Arona, while progress continues on accommodating the Audi A1, which will be arriving in 2018”.

AutoRevista also underscored that “beyond the Iberian Peninsula, SEAT is leading the Volkswagen Group’s project in Algeria and will then see production of the largest vehicle in its range produced next year in Wolfsburg. Luca de Meo knows how to extract maximum value from SEAT both in terms of the product range and industrial aspects”. It concluded by stating that “the strengthening of its brand image, its complete alignment with the most advanced market trends and its repositioning within the Volkswagen Group support this acknowledgement”.

In his acceptance speech, Luca de Meo pointed out that “it is an honour to receive this award from AutoRevista, one of the sector’s most relevant publications in Spain, and from its readers, professionals linked to the automotive industry”. The President of SEAT added that this recognition “is the result of the work carried out by all the professionals who make up SEAT, and the success of each of the projects that have been developed in recent years. They are the true architects of the present moment we are experiencing, and I am just the public face”.

Founded in 1959, AutoRevista is known for its detailed analysis of the sector and in-depth interviews, and is published in Spanish and English. AutoRevista has been giving the Director

of the Year Awards since 1991, and they are considered among the most relevant in the automotive industry in Spain.

A steadily developing career Luca de Meo has more than 25 years experience in the automotive sector. He began his career at Renault in 1992, prior to joining Toyota Europe, followed by the Group, where he was Head of Business Units , Fiat, and . Luca de Meo joined the Volkswagen Group in 2009 as Marketing Director of the Volkswagen brand and the Volkswagen Group. From 2012 he was a Board of Management member for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG, until 2015 when he was appointed President of SEAT. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Ducati and President of SEAT Metropolis:Lab Barcelona.

SEAT is the only company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), exporting 81% of its vehicles, and is present in over 80 countries through a network of 1,700 dealerships. In 2016, SEAT obtained an operating profit of 143 million euros, the highest in the history of the brand, and achieved worldwide sales of nearly 410,000 vehicles.

SEAT Group employs more than 14,500 professionals at its three production centres – Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the Ibiza, Leon and Arona. Additionally, the company produces the Ateca and the Toledo in the Czech Republic, the Alhambra in Portugal and the Mii in Slovakia.

The multinational has a Technical Centre, which operates as a knowledge hub that brings together 1,000 engineers who are focussed on developing innovation for Spain’s largest industrial investor in R&D. SEAT already features the latest connectivity technology in its vehicle range and is currently engaged in the company’s global digitalisation process to promote the mobility of the future.

SEAT Communications Cristina Vall-Llosada Ezequiel Avilés Head of Corporate Communications Corporate Communications T / +34 93 708 53 78 T / +34 93 708 59 50 M/ +34 646 295 296 M/ +34 646 303 738 [email protected] [email protected] http://seat-mediacenter.com